The present invention relates to an auxiliary/remote oil pumping system for an automatic transmission, particularly with respect to automatic transmissions used in drag racing. Drag racing is a sport where cars compete against one another over ¼ mile distances from a standing start. The vast majority of drag racing cars use automatic transmissions and the automatic transmission are subjected to extreme loads over the all-out ¼ mile. It is common practice with such a car to select neutral in the automatic transmission and shut the motor off after clearing the finish line of the race. This practice is used to prevent engine damage that can occur from loss of engine oil pressure when slowing the vehicle causes oil in the engine's oil pan to surge forward and away from the oil pickup in the oil pan such that the oil pickup is exposed and sucks air. This practice is also used to eliminate connecting rod stretch from de-acceleration. Lifting off the throttle results in engine braking for the vehicle as the drive train operates against the engine compression. This, however, pulls the engine's rotating assembly in the opposite direction that it was designed for and can result in connecting rod stretch.
Cars subjected to this practice are often towed back to the pits without starting the engine again until the next race. The oil pump of an automatic transmission operates only when the engine is running and turning the torque converter, which drives the automatic transmission oil pump. This pressurizes the system and pumps fluid through the torque converter and transmission system. Thus, under the standard practice described above of shutting off the vehicle after the race is over, no oil is flowing in the transmission during such time that the engine is shut off.